Ninth Annual Ranking Now Includes Fifty-five Cities

September 6, 2012, New York and Austin, Texas. London has been crowned the Top Global Fashion Capital, edging out New York for the second year in a row, according to the Global Language Monitor’s annual ranking of the Top Fifty Fashion Capitals. London and New York were followed by Barcelona, Paris and Madrid. Rounding out the Top Ten were Rome, Sao Paulo, Milano, Los Angeles, and Berlin.

“London’s two-year run has been has been propelled by two rather extraordinary circumstances: the emergence of the former Kate Middleton as a top fashion icon and the recent completion of what have been hailed as an extremely successful Summer Olympics,” said Bekka Payack, Manhattan-based Fashion Director of GLM. “In recognition of the significance and growth of regional capitals with their distinctive styles and contributions to the fashion industry, GLM expanded the list to some fifty-five cities on five continents.”

Top movers on the plus side included Antwerp (+33), Caracas (+27), Johannesburg (+23), and Sao Paulo (+18). Top movers on the down side include Mexico City (-25), Toronto (-19), Moscow (-17), Chicago (-14), and Mumbai (-14), attesting to the heightened global competition. Newcomers to this year’s analysis were Vancouver (31), Seoul (34), Boston (44), Houston (49), and St Petersburg, Russia (51).

Prior to London’s two year reign, New York had reclaimed the crown from Milan. Previous to this, New York had been the top fashion capital for five years running, taking the crown from Paris.

The 2012 Top Global Fashion Capitals, with Rank, Previous Year’s Rank, and commentary:

1. London (1) — Competitors stymied by Kate Middleton and now the hugely successful Summer Olympics.
2. New York (2)– That toddling town is waiting in the wings for London to stumble.
3. Barcelona (7) — Iberia rules with two fashion capitals in the Top Five.
4. Paris (3)– Topped ‘haute couture’ category, of course.
5. Madrid (12)– Making a strong move toward the top.
6. Rome (13)– Edging Milano this time out.
7. Sao Paulo (25) — The Queen of Latin America, again.
8. Milano (4) — Slipping a few spots, but never for long.
9. Los Angeles (5) — The City of Angels strengthening its hold as a true fashion capital.
10. Berlin (10) — Remains among the elite — and deservedly so.

11. Antwerp (44) — A surprising large climb in a very short time (up 33 spots).
12. Hong Kong (6) — Tops in Asia, though down six year over year.
13. Buenos Aires (20) — Moving steadily upward.

14. Bali (21) — Steady climb attests to it being more than just swimwear.
15. Sydney (11) — Remains near the top, a few steps ahead of Melbourne, as is its wont.
16. Florence (31) — A big move for Firenza (up 15).
17. Rio de Janeiro (23) — Building toward the 2016 Summer Games.
18. Johannesburg (41) — Jo-burg breaks into the Top Twenty.
19. Singapore (8) — Trailing Hong Kong but leading Tokyo and Shanghai.
20. Tokyo (9) — No longer the No, 5 to the Top Four, competition is aglow in Asia.
21. Melbourne (17) — Still strong, still a few steps behind Sydney.
22. Shanghai (14) — A thriving fashion center in a tough competitive arena.
23. Caracas (50) — Tremendous upward movement for a seminal fashion center.
24. Las Vegas (16) — Follow the money, and the money and the stars flow to Vegas.
25. Monaco (15) — The principality is firmly ensconced in the European fashion firmament.
26. Santiago (30) — A solid No. 5 in Latin America.
27. Amsterdam (19) — Creative, original and a bit outre.
28. Dubai (27) — A steady force in the mid-East ready to bloom further.
29. Bangkok (32) — Struggling to gain ground in the region.
30. Copenhagen (29) — Keeping pace with (and a bit ahead of) Stockholm.
31. Vancouver (Debut) — Solid debut from this newcomer from the Pacific Northwest.
32. Stockholm (28) — The Capital of Scandinavia’s influence is beginning to transcend its regional roots.
33. Krakow (47) — A scrappy player wielding a surprising amount of influence.
34. Seoul (Debut) — Korean fashion has now gained a foothold on the world scene.
35. Moscow (18) — A bold and growing presence despite a stumble in the current analysis.
36. Frankfurt (43) — Carving out its own space in Berlin’s towering shadow.
37. Vienna (35) — Insight into 21st c. fashion emerging from ancient imperial venues.
38. Mumbai (24) — Still leading New Delhi (now by 10 spots) to dominate the Subcontinent.
39. Miami (26) — The fashion world beginning to understand Miami is more than swimwear.
40. Abu Dhabi (42) — A steady climb backed by deep pockets.
41. San Francisco (38) — A rising yet iconoclastic star.
42. Austin (40) — Famous for its ‘Mash Up’ teams, the city propels its unique style forward.
43. Warsaw (33) — Particularly influential in Central Europe.
44. Boston (Debut) — Can New England deliver fashion to the world? Apparently so.
45. Prague (48) — A firm foundation in interpreting the traditional and the classic.
46. Dallas (37) — Outdistances Houston to settle the local score.
47. Mexico City (22) — Slips some twenty-five spots since the last report.
48. New Delhi (39) — Striving for relevance on the global stage.
49. Houston (Debut) — Big, bold and a city to watch.
50. Chicago (36) — City of the Big Shoulders stretching out toward word-class fashion.
51. St. Petersburg (Debut) — The former imperial capital making strides on the global fashion scene.
52. Montreal (49) — Eclipsed by the debut of Vancouver but still a formidable force.
53. Toronto (34) — Nipped by its francophone neighbor to the North.
54. Cape Town (46) — Though Jo-burg won the latest duel, Cape Town surely has plans.
55. Atlanta (45) — Gaining an international reputation for its bold accents.

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This exclusive ranking is based upon GLM’s Narrative Tracking technology. NarrativeTracker analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 250,000 print and electronic news media, as well as new social media sources (such as Twitter) as they emerge.

The words, phrases and concepts are tracked in relation to their frequency, contextual usage and appearance in global media outlets.

Ambushers Leading Sponsors 33-17

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Billions of Dollars in Brand Equity at Stake

AUSTIN, Texas. July 18, 2012 — Of the Top Fifty Brands affiliated with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games only seventeen are official sponsors. This according to the latest Brand Affiliation Index (BAI) analysis by the Global Language Monitor, the Internet media trend tracking company. The longitudinal study began in July 2011 and tracks the top three tiers of official Olympic sponsorship, as designated by the LOGOC and the IOC.

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“Fortunately in the Olympics there is no ‘mercy rule,’ where a winner is declared in a contest to reach twenty-one, when one side scores the first 11 points,” said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of GLM. Of the top official and ‘non-affiliated marketers’ in the current study, the first twelve fall into the non-affiliated category.”

. Some seventy-five brands are studied including the twenty-five premier official sponsors divided into three tiers: The TOP partners, which pay approximately one hundred million pounds for the privilege, the Official Olympic Partners, and the Official Olympic Sponsors. Together these sponsors pay an estimated 30% of the cost of staging the games.

There are a number of other levels and forms of sponsorship including national sponsorships such as the USOC. The real cost of being a TOP partner ranges from a $500 billion to over a trillion dollar investment to companies that sign on for sponsorships spanning several Olympiads.

For these rankings GLM measured the strength of the brand affiliation for each official Olympic sponsor against those of their primary non-affiliated competitors. Though ‘ambush marketing’ is well understood to mean an organization knowingly exploiting a brand affiliation with the Games without the benefit of official sponsorship, all perceived Olympic affiliations according to their presence in the global media, and statistically linked to the London Games, qualify for GLM’s Ambush Marketing rankings.

Ambushing by ‘Non-affiliated Marketers’ is more than Michael Phelps pitching sandwiches; it is a years-long effort to create a pseudo-sponsorship to leverage the good-well generated by having the Olympics with one’s brand.

The GLM Brand Affiliation Index for this analysis,ranged from a high of 797.90 (Royal Philips} to a low of 1.50 for VisaCard. The higher the score, the closer the brand affiliation with the event.

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The Top Twelve (all Ambushers), along with their tiers, are Listed below:

1

Royal Philips

TOP-A

2

CVC Capital

OOP-A

3

ExxonMobil

OOP-A

4

Manpower

OOS-A

5

Schroders

OOP-A

6

IBM Global

TOP-A

7

E ON Energy

OOP-A

8

KPMG

OOS-A

9

Deutsche Telekom

OOP-A

10

BASF

TOP-A

11

EI DuPont

TOP-A

12

Cable & Wireless

OOP-A

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As you can see for the above rankings, Business-to-Business brands are being subjected to the sames ambush marketing forces as B2C marketers. ‘

Royal Philips is crushing GE by over 20:1 margin; ExxonMobil bests BP by a similar margin; and BASF and DuPont are both striding past Dow.

The Top Ten Official Sponsors ranked from No. 13 to No. 39 overall. They are listed below, along with their tiers.

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1

BT Group

OOP

2

Cadbury

OOS

3

BMW

OOP

4

Adidas

OOP

5

Panasonic

TOP

6

McDonald;s

TOP

7

Coca-Cola

TOP

8

UPS

OOS

9

P&G

TOP

10

EDF energy

OOP

11

Arcelor Mittal

OOS

12

Samsung

TOP

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Though listed at the top official sponsor, the BT group actually ranks behind both Deutsche Telekom and Cable&Wireless.

Cadbury, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are doing quite well for their investments in spite of the efforts to derail their sponsorships on the grounds of their contributing to a so-called ‘obesogenic’ environment. Adidas is currently doubling Nike’s number. P&G continues to excel with their ‘Moms’ campaign. Arcelor Mittal is a surprise standout for a company previously little known to the public.

GLM has been measuring the effects of Ambush marketing on the Olympic Movement for the last three Olympiads, in the process accumulating perhaps the most extensive database of its kind. For London 2012, GLM began tracking the three tiers of official sponsors since the third quarter of 2011. GLM also tracks the brand equity of the athletes before and during the Games. For more information, call +1.512.815.8836, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, or click on www.LanguageMonitor.com

Nike over Adidas; BA Trails Three Competitors; Subway and Pizza Hut Top McDonald’s

Kate Middleton ‘Brand’ Tops Coke, Adidas, and BA

Austin, Texas. Weekend May 4-6, 2012. Ambush Marketers continue to dominate the run-up to the London Summer Games. In fact ‘non-affiliated marketers’ took 27 of the top 50 spots measuring effective brand activation by the Global Language Monitor’s Brand Affiliation Index (BAI).

This despite the recent tightening of the rules by the IOC, The GLM BAI rankings are not simply a matter of pride or bragging rights but rather a battle for brand equity and the consumer’s mind and the billions of dollars committed to the IOC, which are primarily used to fund the Games.

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“The Olympic movement it is not immune to the historic shifts in communications affecting all institutions worldwide,” said Paul JJ Payack, founding president of the Global Language Monitor. “The seemingly all-pervasive media ensure that the flow of information can be stopped neither by national boundaries nor institutional gatekeepers. There is no reason to think that marketing activities are immune from such forces. In fact, marketing has been one of the foremost purveyors of new media technology.”

For these rankings GLM measured the strength of the brand affiliation for each official Olympic sponsor against those of their primary non-affiliated competitors. Though ‘ambush marketing’ is well understood to mean an organization knowingly exploiting a brand affiliation with the Games without the benefit of official sponsorship.

All perceived Olympic affiliations according to their presence in the global media, and statistically linked to the London Games, qualify for GLM’s Ambush Marketing rankings.

The GLM Brand Affiliation Index for this analysis, ranged from a high of 524.45 to a low of 1.49. The higher the score, the closer the brand affiliation with an event.

GLM has been tracking ambush marketing at the Olympics since the Beijing Games in 2008. For London 2012, GLM began the three tiers of official sponsors since the third quarter of 2011. These results are based on a study concluded on May 1, 2012.

With its Branded Individual Index (BII) GLM also tracks the brand equity of the athletes before and during the Games.

The official Olympic sponsors are divided into three tiers: Worldwide Partners, Official Partners, and Official Supporters. GLM tracks over fifty non-affiliated companies that are direct competitors with the Official Olympic sponsors.

To schedule a confidential consultation, call +1.512.815.8836.

For these rankings, encompassing the first quarter of 2012, GLM measured the strength of the brand affiliation for each official Olympic sponsor against those of their primary non-affiliated competitors. Though ‘ambush marketing’ is well understood to mean an organization knowingly exploiting a brand affiliation with the Games without the benefit of official sponsorship.

All perceived Olympic affiliations according to their presence in the global media, and statistically linked to the London Games, qualify for GLM’s Ambush Marketing rankings.

The top findings include:

McDonald’s is in a tough fight, ranking behind Subway and Pizza Hut, but beating KFC.

Ambusher Nike leads Partner Adidas by a wide margin.

British Airways trails ambushers Lufthansa, United and Air France in the rankings.

Royal Philip outpaced ever-strong GE.

P&G continues to crush ambush competitors as it did in Vancouver.

Ambusher Ericsson Over Supporter Cisco by a 3:1 margin.

The Duchess Effect Meets the Summer Games

One interesting side note is that even the Summer Games are encountering the Duchess Effect. The GLM BAI analysis showed that when linked with London 2012, Kate Middleton had a closer brand affiliation than a number of top sponsors including Coke, Adidas, BA and Panasonic, among others.

This again demonstrates the power of the ‘Kate Middleton Brand’. A Tier 1 Olympic sponsor pays about $160 million for the privilege, plus the attendant advertising fees promoting the relationship that can cost upwards of $500 million over the four-year arrangement. This would suggest that the Kate Middleton Brand could be valued at nearly a billion dollars or more, just in relationship to Summer Games.
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The Top Ten Official Olympic Sponsors by BAI are listed below.

1

Arcelor Mittal

Supporter

2

EDF energy

Partner

3

BT Group

Partner

4

Thomas Cook

Supporter

5

UPS

Supporter

6

Lloyds TSB

Partner

7

Cadbury

Supporter

8

BP

Partner

9

P&G

IOC

10

ATOS

IOC

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The Top Ten non-Olympic Affiliated Marketers by BAI are listed below.

1

Centrica

AMB OP

2

Eon Energy UK

AMB OP

3

Barclaycard

AMB IOC

4

Schroders

AMB OP

5

Royal Philips

AMB IOC

6

EI DuPont

AMB IOC

7

Kraft

AMB SUP

8

Ericsson Comm

AMB SUP

9

Subway

AMB IOC

10

Lufthansa

AMB OP

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The Top Twenty Combined Olympic Sponsors and Non-Affiliated Marketers Ranked by BAI.

1

Arcelor Mittal

Supporter

2

EDF energy

Partner

3

BT Group

Partner

4

Centrica

AMB OP

5

Eon Energy UK

AMB OP

6

Thomas Cook

Supporter

7

Barclaycard

AMB IOC

8

UPS

Supporter

9

Schroders

AMB OP

10

Lloyds TSB

Partner

11

Cadbury

Supporter

12

BP

Partner

13

Royal Philips

AMB IOC

14

P&G

IOC

15

ATOS

IOC

16

EI DuPont

AMB IOC

17

Kraft

AMB SUP

18

Ericsson Comm

AMB SUP

19

Subway

AMB IOC

20

Lufthansa

AMB OP

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The GLM Brand Affiliation Index for this analysis, ranged from a high of 524.45 to a low of 1.49. The higher the score, the closer the brand affiliation with an event.

GLM has been tracking ambush marketing at the Olympics since the Beijing Games in 2008. For London 2012, GLM began the three tiers of official sponsors since the third quarter of 2011. These results are based on a study concluded on March 31, 2012.

With its Branded Individual Index (BII) GLM also tracks the brand equity of the athletes before and during the Games.

The official Olympic sponsors are divided into three tiers: Worldwide Partners, Official Partners, and Official Supporters. GLM tracks over fifty non-affiliated companies that are direct competitors with the Official Olympic sponsors.

Customized GLM Ambush Marketing Rankings are released monthly up to and following London 2012. The Ambush Marketing London 2012 report features dozens of charts representing the interrelationship of each company to the Olympic Brand, their competitors and their partners. In addition, the reports contain exclusive and individualized Narrative Tracker analyses, the most advanced trend tracking analytics available. For more information, individualized reports, or a monthly subscription, call +1.512.815.8836 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com

About Global Language Monitor: ”We Tell You What the Web is Thinking”
Founded in Silicon Valley, Austin, Texas-based GLM collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language.

GLM employs proprietary ‘algorithmic methodologies’ such as the NarrativeTracker for global Internet and social media analysis. NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture of what the public is saying about any topic, at any point in time.

NarrativeTracker analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 175,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new media sources, as they emerge. For more information, individualized reports, or a monthly subscription, call +1.512.815.8836 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com

AUSTIN, Texas, July 12, 2012 — The Top Political Buzzwords are telling a far different story than either campaign is presenting to the American people, One hundred and twenty-days before the presidential election, the Global Language Monitor has found profound differences between the actual concerns of the public and the political narratives of both parties. The Top Political Buzzwords 120 Days Before the Vote, was released earlier today. GLM has tracked political buzzwords associated with the national political scene since 2003 in the process compiling perhaps the largest statistical database of the kind.

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The “War Against Women” is next to last at No. 52 even though it figures quite heavily in the Democratic narrative. It ranks just below No. 51 Outsourcing, which is key to the narratives of both parties. Other political buzzwords on the top of mind in the campaigns but in the bottom ten in the survey include: the Bush Tax Cuts, Progressive Politics, the Decline in US Manufacturing, Political Stalemate (in Congress), Angry White Males, and the Obstructionist Congress.

The electorate definitely has a sense that the American Dream Still Alive (No.5.)though it is clearly Disappointed in the Obama Administration (No. 6).

The public is quite mindful of the negative tenor of the debate, reflected in the rankings of Toxic Politics (No.2), Haters and those who label their opponents as -phobic (such as Christophobic), (No. 15), and the Politics of Fear (No. 23). Perhaps this helps account for the fact that enthusiasm for the campaign is tempered by non-enthusiasm (Nos. 17 and 18).

The Top Social Issue in the survey was Pregnancy Reduction and Sex-selective Abortion at No. 25, the debate on which crosses the Progressive/Conservative chasm, though neither seems much discussed on the campaign trail.

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Both parties would do well to note that Romney’s Wealth is dead last; the electorate no-doubt inured to the fact that US presidential candidates are frequently wealthy (for example, the Bushes and John Kerry each had fortunes equal to or larger than that of Mitt Romney). Though Mr. Romney should note that Mormonism in Politics is No. 11.

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“The narratives of both political parties are becoming further and further removed from the actual concerns of the American voters,” said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of GLM, “This is happening because they focus on smaller and smaller segments of voting population, writing off states, demographic segments, and entire geographic regions in the process.”

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Highlights from the analysis include:

The top priority is the Current US Economy (1)

Responsibility for the Current US Economy is assigned to Obama (1)

Responsibility for Great Recession is assigned to Bush (7)

The name Obamacare is favored over the Affordable Healthcare Act by a 25:1 margin (3, 42)

The issues of the The 1% registers at No. 36, Super Pacs at No.37,and Teachers Unions at No.38.

The Top Political Buzzwords follow:

Current US Economy (with Obama Ownership)

Toxic Politics

ObamaCare

Out-of-control Spending

The American Dream Still alive

Disappointment in Obama Administration

Bush Responsible for Great Recession

The Iraq War

Stimulus Package

Wall Street Bailout

Mormonism in Politics

Rise of China

US Debt Crisis

Middle Class Whites

Identifying opponents as Haters (or -phobic)

Transparency in Government

Excited about Presidential Election

Not Excited about Presidential Election

The Euro Crisis affecting US

Hilary Clinton

Illegal Aliens

Climate Change

Politics of Fear

Afghanistan War

Middle-class tax (Affordable Care Act)

Wall Street Occupy Movement

Bain Capital

Pregnancy Reduction and sex selective abortion

Drone Strikes

Birther

Hydraulic Fracturing

John Roberts Healthcare

George Bush Responsible for US Economy

Keystone Pipeline

Obama responsible for Great Recession

Deficit Spending

The 1%

Super Pacs

Teachers Unions

Global Terrorism

Nuclear Iran

Affordabe Healthcare Act

Long-term Unemployment

Bush Tax Cuts Affecting Middle Class

Progressive politics

Decline US Manufacturing

Political Stalement

Angry White Males

Obstructionist Congress

Obamamania

Outsourcing

War Against Women

Romney Wealth

Political buzzwords are terms or phrases that become loaded with emotional freight beyond the normal meaning of the word. For example, the word surge has been in the English-language vocabulary since time immemorial. However, in its context as an Iraq War strategy, it inspired a set of emotions in many people far beyond the norm.

The PQI tracks the frequency of words and phrases in global print and electronic media on the Internet, throughout the Blogosphere, Twitter and other social media outlets, as well as accessing proprietary databases. The PQI is a weighted index that factors in long-term trends, short-term changes, momentum, and velocity. Because PQI is based on the national discourse, it provides a real-time, accurate picture of what the public is saying about any topic, at any point in time.